Memorial Day DUIs down, deaths up in state, Bay Area

The California Highway Patrol reported fewer drunk driving arrests statewide, but more fatalities during the first two-and-a-half days of the Memorial Day weekend, compared with last year.

Between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday, 1,133 drivers were arrested for DUI, according to information provided by CHP Sgt. Diana McDermott. During the same period during the 2012 Memorial Day weekend, 1,161 were arrested for DUI.

Fifteen fatalities from automobile collisions were reported through 6 a.m. Monday, a figure that did not include a crash in Colma on Monday morning that claimed three lives. Eleven people died during the same period in 2012.

The CHP reported 165 DUI arrests in the Bay Area (down one from 2012) and two fatalities (one more than 2012).